Assessment of early and long-COVID related retinal neurodegeneration with optical coherence tomography

• Published in: International ophthalmology Vol. 43; no. 6; pp. 2073 - 2081
• Main Authors: Dağ Şeker, Esra, Erbahçeci Timur, İnci Elif
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-06-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - complications; Humans; Long-term effects; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Nerve Fibers; Neurodegeneration; Ophthalmology; Optical Coherence Tomography; Original Paper; Polymerase chain reaction; Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome; Retina; Retinal Ganglion Cells; RNA-directed DNA polymerase; Thickness; Tomography; Tomography, Optical Coherence - methods; COVID-19; Retina; SARS-CoV-2; Optical Coherence Tomography; Neurodegeneration
• ISSN: 1573-2630; 0165-5701; 1573-2630
• DOI: 10.1007/s10792-022-02607-9

Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate short-term and long-term effects of coronovirus 19 disease (COVID-19) at inner and outer retinal layers of patients recovered from COVID-19 with Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) and compare these to healthy subjects.
Methods
Twenty-seven patients recovered from COVID-19, and age- and gender-matched 27 healthy controls were included in this study. Macular and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL), inner nuclear layer (INL), outer plexiform layer (OPL) and outer nuclear layer (ONL) were analyzed with SD-OCT 1 month (V
1
visit) and 12 months (V
2
visit) after negative result of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction test.
Results
Macular RNFL thickness in outer ring was thinner at V
1
and V
2
visits than healthy control (
p
 = 0.049 and
p
 = 0.005). Central and inferonasal quadrants of peripapillary RNFL thicknesses were reduced at V
1
and V
2
visits compared to controls (
p
 = 0.001 and
p
 = 0.024 for V
1
visit;
p
 = 0.001 and
p
 = 0.006 for V
2
visit). Thinning in ONL thickness in inner ring was observed at V
1
and V
2
visits than healthy subjects (
p
 = 0.006 and
p
 = 0.001).
Conclusion
Subclinical localized changes in macular and peripapillary RNFL and outer nuclear layer were demonstrated in early and 12-months follow-up after COVID-19 recovery.